The suits filed last fall and winter against Monsoon Multimedia, Xterasys, High-Gain Antennas, and Verizon, all involved the same claim that the companies (perhaps inadvertently) distributed BusyBox with their products without the source code as required by GPLv2. The suits all seem to have settled the same way -- by promising to release the code, appointing an "open-source compliance officer," and paying an undisclosed sum of money.

If these actions seem familiar, Clements writes, you might be thinking of the BSA, which has been criticized for what some call intimidation tactics to "punish businesses that may be trying to play by the rules." GPL lawsuits are only going to increase, he predicts. The people behind the SFLC recently formed a for-profit law firm so that open-source businesses can sue for violations as well.